Chapter 11 | Missing

Katherine's POV

The walls of the interrogation room were bare. The room itself was empty except for two chairs, a single table, and a bright lap overhead.

The detectives had made it relatively clear they weren't letting me go so easily, making it their duty to fully eliminate me as a suspect before allowing me to leave the station.

Detective Massey waddled his way into the room with two cups of coffee, sliding one over to my side of the table. I flashed him a smile of thanks and watched as he maneuvered his heavy set body into the small chair.

He readjusted his tie and gave out a loud grunt before beginning to speak, "Mrs. Monroe, in most cases involving the disappearance of a spouse or a loved one the most obvious suspect is the other half in the picture."

I nodded my head agreeing with him but spoke in opposition, "Why would I kidnap my husband? He had an affair, I was upset, but we were working on our marriage. We were fixing to move into our dream home in just a couple of days, the likelihood of me seeming guilty is absurd."

""I hear you, but you have to understand the delicate position we're in," he took a swig of his coffee, "One of the top lawyers in the country is now missing, Benjamin Harrison is dead, and we have a multimillionaire father who demands we have you arrested in connection with his son's disappearance. I can't have my career on the line by letting a guilty woman walk out of this building cuff free."

I gave out a sinister chuckle, "That multimillionaire father is also my father in law, whom I was on the phone with just before coming here. He is stressing you look at his son's estranged mistress. I will not do any further interrogations without our family lawyer present. If there is no reason for you to further hold me here, I'll see myself out detective."

The legs of the chair screeched against the floor as I got up from the table, and making my way to the door. A brush of cold air swept past my cheeks as I neared the entrance leading outside of the police station. I was welcomed by the flashes of cameras and the bustling of news reporters inching their microphones towards me in hopes of a statement:

"Mrs. Monroe, do you know anyone who would want to harm your husband?"

"Is it true your husband was having an affair and got a woman pregnant?"

"What do you have to say about your husband's disappearance?"

I grabbed one of the microphones from a reporter's hand and braced myself for the words I was about to say. Tears began filling the ducts of my eyes and at that moment I was thankful for my sunglasses, shielding the world of my weakness. "I just want to thank the men and women of the Seattle Police Department for devoting their time and efforts into locating my husband, not leaving a single stone unturned. I am confident that my husband is out there alive, and more confident that he will be found alive. Stefan if you are listening, just know that I won't give up on you. If anyone has any information regarding his disappearance or whereabouts, it is strongly urged that they come forward. A reward of $500,000 has been put up for Stefan's safe return. That's all I have to say at this time."

I brushed past any reporters from that point, my primary focus being to make it to my vehicle without speaking any further. No matter how many words I said, people still had questions. Questions I couldn't answer.

I didn't know where my husband was, or why he was kidnapped.

I didn't know why Benji was assassinated the way he was, or dumped out by garbage bins as if he was last week's trash.

Benji had been apart of Stefan's life since he was a teenager. Stefan was perfectly capable of driving himself around, but by orders from his father it was forbidden.

Stefan's father was a multimillionaire, and his millions came from years worth of lying in the courtroom.

A lawyer's job was to defend you, whether you were guilty or innocent, basically a professional liar.

Stefan's family was always on high alert for anything or anyone that posed a potential threat to their family, including me in the beginning.

∞∞∞

His hands were sweaty and clammy as he waited outside the church doors for me to appear. Our joining before the ceremony was a sudden decision brought on by Stefan's father, who made it known he was not approving of the wedding.

I slightly opened the abnormally large church door and reached for his hand, "I don't want to see you, it's bad luck. I want this to be perfect."

He interlocked his fingers with mine and I felt the trembling of his body, "I want it to be perfect too, but it won't be unless we give my father what he wants. Have you thought about it? Can you please do this for me Katherine? I know it's not something I should be asking of you, you've never given me any reason to believe the only reason you're with me is for my family's wealth. There will never be another, there will never be a divorce. As long as there's a breath in me, I'm going to be there and you will be taken care of."

His words tugged at my heartstrings uneasily and I felt my chest grow heavy. I knew how important this was to him. All of his life he had lived to please his father, something he couldn't do if he married me before I signed the prenuptial agreement. The key to his father's blessing laid in the hands of if I signed those papers.

"Stefan I have never been after your money or the legacy your father plans to leave behind. I fell in love with you before I knew your last name, before I knew there was even a cent of wealth to your name. I'm going to love you more today than I did yesterday, and I'll love you even more tomorrow. Have the papers brought to my room, and I'll sign them before the ceremony. Gather yourself together and let's do this," I squeezed his hand reassuringly, and could hear the sound of his sobs and hints of laughter escaping from his mouth.

The birds chirped a little higher and the sun shined a little brighter. He was at the end of the aisle standing a little taller and straighter, his father appeared at his side and stared me down smiling. A genuine smile that had never crossed his face before, a smile filled of pure happiness.

∞∞∞

Flashbacks of that beautiful day crept inside of my head more frequently since Stefan had been missing. I found myself craving his presence and touch now more than I did when I found out about the affair. When I learned about Callie, it felt as if my heart had been ripped from my chest. I wanted to throw the wedding ring at him on that day, throwing the entire marriage away. I couldn't, however, because if I did I would've fought for nothing.

I stared blankly out of the windshield, watching as people walked along the sidewalk without a care in the world. Everywhere all around me there was lives moving forward without thinking. People were laughing at jokes or just living their lives innocently, while I was stuck in a surreal and neverending nightmare.

Walking out of the supermarket just across the street, I was able to make out Chad's figure making it's way to his Sedan. He was walking cowardly, completely out of character and physique. It was as if he was constantly wondering if he should look behind him, like he was being watched from a distance.

Without a second thought, I found myself following his Sedan to an old worn down building in the middle of nowhere. I didn't recognize the place, but it gave off eery vibes. It was an old bricked building. Half of the windows were boarded shut, most of them seemed to have been busted out by objects unknown. Graffiti was sprung outside of the building all around from adolescents, and the surroundings of the building seemed as if they were thrown out of a horror movie.

My car was hidden behind shrubs that separated the dirt road from the highway, I was close enough to make out Chad's built figure being swallowed by the building as if he was consumed by a monster.

He had never mentioned an old abandoned building before, nothing about a side business or even a reconstruction project. There was no reason he should be here, nor was there one for me to spy on him the way that I was.

Something just didn't seem right about the picture, and I had to know why he was here.

I retrieved an old pocket knife from the glove box and exited out of my car, making my way towards the building. Nobody could be seen or heard for miles. If it ended right here, nobody would realize I was gone for days. I tip toed inside, the floor was nothing but cement. The walls wreaked of old paint, and old pictures were scattered on the walls unevenly. The wiring of the building was so old, the light above me was steadily flickering in and out. Chad was nowhere to be seen, not a sign of him in the building at all. It was so quiet, you would believe it was completely vacant. The only sound was the humming escaping from the elevator, and I suddenly felt the room beginning to grow hot as I pressed the button to go down to the bottom floor.

The basement.

∞∞∞

I know this was probably a downer for you guys, not much drama or horror in this one. I had to, however, build up the suspense for the next chapter. I also had to give a taste for what's going on inside of Katherine's world. Another cliff hanger, I know. Stay tuned! Happy Horror! xxx